Cardinals vs Seahawks: prediction and projected score

We project Seahawks 25-16, a 9.9-point margin with 40.9 total points; Seahawks win 78% of the time.

Matchup analysis

Our model projects Seahawks 25, Cardinals 16 at Lumen Field in Week 9. That is a solid edge: Seahawks win about 78% of the time by our estimate, with a projected margin of 9.9 points and 40.9 combined points.

The Cardinals are 1-2, scoring 21 and allowing 27 points per game (-6 per game). The Seahawks are 2-1, scoring 25 and allowing 16.7 points per game (+8.3 per game).

Seahawks' elite defense (2nd) should limit Cardinals' middle-of-the-pack offense (18th of 32, worth about 22.4 points against an average defense). The most lopsided unit battle: Seahawks' strong offense (7th of 32, worth about 25.4 points against an average defense) against Cardinals' struggling defense (28th).

The NFL is noisy: even a well-rated projection misses the final margin by about 10 points on average. Based on how real results have scattered around our numbers, the final margin should land somewhere between Cardinals by 7 and Seahawks by 27 about 80% of the time.

The Seahawks get about 2.6 points for playing at home. Even on a neutral field the ratings would still favour Seahawks by about 7.3. The game is on FOX.

More: Cardinals schedule · Seahawks schedule · all Week 9 projections

Projections are statistical estimates for entertainment and analysis only. They are not betting advice and nothing here guarantees any result.

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